Key Skills and Attributes

• Strong expertise in category-specific apparel sourcing in value retail or high-volume production
• Proven vendor negotiation and relationship management across Indian manufacturing clusters
• Solid understanding of fabric, garment construction, costing, and quality standards
• Ability to ensure on-time production and delivery aligned with seasonal retail cycles
• Effective cross-functional collaboration with merchandising, planning, and supply chain teams
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making, and leadership skills with high ownership mind-set
• Develop and execute category-specific sourcing strategies aligned with merchandising plans
• Identify, evaluate, and manage vendors for cost, quality, and compliance
• Negotiate costs, MOQs, lead times, and payment terms to achieve margin targets
• Ensure timely sampling, production, and deliveries as per seasonal calendars
• Monitor fabric sourcing, trims, garment quality, and adherence to category standards
• Collaborate with Merchandising to translate design and trend inputs into bulk orders
• Drive vendor development, onboarding new manufacturers as required
• Ensure ethical sourcing, statutory, and quality compliance
• Track KPIs related to cost, OTIF, quality rejections, and category fill rate
• Mitigate supply chain risks, production delays, and cost escalations